Garance Doré on French Girl Style and Her New Collaboration with Equipment

"I can understand the appeal of French style. It's easy, unapologetic, and chic," says Garance Doré, whose new collaboration with Equipment—a small clutch of scarves and a white silk button-down shirt, all covered in her illustrations—launches today. And she would know: Doré became famous for her ability to convey the appeals of a certain undone aesthetic through various talents; a snap of a seemingly effortlessly attired femme navigating a romantically lit West Village street or a well-known designer at peace in her pied-à-terre; a joyfully recounted series of style mishaps in a first-person essay on her eponymous blog; elegant, feminine illustrations of her adventures in the fashion industry. The fashion illustrator, street style photographer, and proto-blogger has recently turned her eye for beauty in the everyday (and her unabashed, "every girl"-style appreciation for life) into a fully operating photography studio and forthcoming book. The blog remains intact, though content is largely handled by her creative team. Which, of course, leaves Doré with more time for creative projects—like enabling you to be a little bit more French. And how better than through the not-so-basic basics that every Parisian seems to have in droves: the silk scarf and button-down shirt?

"The Equipment button-down is one of my essentials . . . when they restarted the brand, I basically wrote a love letter to them via my blog. I wear them all the time," says Doré, who drew a female face ("imaginary, inspired by the cool girls around me!") on the scarves and covered the shirt in a flurry of coquettish red lips. "We didn't want to just put an illustration there. I wanted an idea that we could integrate and play with in many different ways," she explains. "The red lip is this very feminine yet very cool thing I've been drawing over and over since my beginnings as an illustrator, so I was happy to get the chance to use it in a different way." And should your utmost desire in life be to live inside a GaranceDore.com street style shot, know this: "I just think that French style is a certain idea of confidence," says the photographer. "It's knowing that you don't need to be over-the-top to seduce. We don't feel like we have to push so much to be flawless. We don't mind flaws too much." And should you be out there, trying to catch her eye, well: "I'd love to see the collaboration on my friends and on girls I don't know on the street, see how they interpret it. I would totally go talk to them!" Mission accomplished.